Tube sizing and chamfering machine

ABSTRACT

A MACHINE FOR SIZING AND CHAMFERING CYLINDRICAL TUBES INCLUDES A FRAME, A TUBE FEEDER RACK FOR HOLDING A PLURALITY OF TUBES, MECHANISM FOR MOVING THE TUBES THROUGH A PREDETERMINED PATH TO AN OUTPUT RACK, AND SIZING AND CHAMFERING STATIONS POSITIONED ALONG THE PATH. THE SIZING STATION INCLUDES A SAW FOR CUTTING THE TUBES TO A PREDETER-   MINED LENGTH, AND THE CHAMFERING STATION INCLUDES A MOVABLE CHAMFER HEAD ADAPTED TO CHAMFER THE ENDS OF THE TUBES.

Oct. 5, 1971 J. J. NASH 3,610,117

TUBE SIZING AND CHAMFERING MACHINE FIGJ INVENTOR JOHN J. NASH ATTORNEY Oct. 5, 1971 J. NASH TUBE SIZING AND CHAMFERING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 5, 1969 INVENTORS JOHN J. NASH ATTORN EY Oct. 5, 1971 J. J. NASH 3,610,111

TUBE SIZING AND CHAMFERING MACHINE Filed May 5. 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet FIG. 7

INVENT'OR JOHN J ASH BY m w ATTORNEY Oct. 5, 1971 J. J. NASH 3,610,117

TUBE SIZING AND CHAMFERINO MACHINE Filed May 5, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet &

INVENTOR JOHN J. ASH

BY I

ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofice 3,610,117 Patented Oct. 5, 1971 3,610,117 TUBE SIZING AND CHAMFERING MACHINE John J. Nash, Ferguson, Mo., assignor to Alsco, Inc., St. Louis, Mo. Filed May 5, 1969, Ser. No. 821,677 Int. Cl. B31c 11/00 U.S. CI. 93-83 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE tubes.

This invention relates to the manufacture of rocket launchers and particularly to a tube sizing and chamfering machine.

United States military forces are presently using rocket launchers comprised of a bundle of cylindrical tubes, each of which is adapted to hold and fire a rocket. The launchers are suspended beneath the aircraft and the rockets within the tubes are fired by a remote triggering mechanism in the cockpit of the aircraft. Disposable rocket launchers have been provided by using launching tubes comprised of stiff paper or cardboard which will withstand one firing of a rocket, but which must be discarded after a single firing. Since each rocket launcher must be replaced after it has been used, a great number of launchers are consumed. Therefore these disposable launchers must be manufactured quickly and efficiently on a mass production basis.

The paper tubes for disposable rocket launchers are often purchased outside the assembly plant, shipped to the assembly plant, and there assembled into launchers. During shipment and storage the ends of many paper tubes become slightly damaged, bent or nicked. It is therefore common practice to purchase paper tubes which are slightly longer than the length necessary for the rocket launchers. Just prior to their assembly into launchers, the tubes are sized by cutting off their ends to make them the proper length. The inner ends of the tubes must then be chamfered so that they will fit properly against the bulkheads mounted on the ends of the tube assembly. Therefore tube sizing and chamfering must take place before the tubes are ready to be assembled into a rocket launcher. Manual methods for performing these two operations are slow and often create a bottleneck in the assembly line.

Among the several objects of the present invention may be noted the provision of a tube sizing and chamfering machine which will both size and chamfer the tubes in a continuous process; the provision of a tube sizing and chamfering machine which will perform the sizing and chamfering processes on many tubes in a relatively short time; the provision of a tube sizing and chamfering ma chine which will perform these two operations with a minimum amount of manual labor and handling; and the provision of a tube sizing and chamfering machine which is durable in use and economical to manufacture. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which one of various possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the tube sizing and chamfering machine with several portions broken away to illustrate internal components;

FIG. 2 is a rear view as seen from the right of FIG. 1 with several portions broken away;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the arrangement of the chamfer clamps;

FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 are illustrations showing the manner in which the chamfer clamps act on a tube; and

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a tube which has been sized and chamfered by the machine of this invention.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Numeral 10 designates a tube sizing and chamfering machine. A frame for machine 10 is provided by two end frames 12 which are identical in construction and each of which includes two leg members 14, 16, a top member 18, a middle member 19, and a base member 20. End frames 12 are joined by a pair of top cross frames 22. Extending between cross frames 22 are three struts 23. A pair of frame arms 24 are secured to front leg members 14 approximately midway along their lengths. Frame arms 24 extend rearwardly from front leg members 14 and are joined at their extreme rear tips by a middle cross bar 26.

A feed rack 28 is secured to front leg members 14 and includes a plurality of longitudinally extending bottom bars 30. On each side of rack 28 are a pair of side rails 32. Bottom bars 30 slope downwardly and are adapted to support a plurality of tubes 34 so that they will roll downwardly, thereby providing a gravity feed into machine l0. Rails 32 are spaced apart so that they will engage the opposite ends of tubes 34 and hold them in a predetermined lateral position relative to machine 10. An upper rail 36 is spaced above bottom bars 30 a distance slightly greater than the diameter of tubes 34 to loosely engage the tops of tubes 34, thereby channeling them down feed rack 28in single file.

A wheel axle 38 journaled at its opposite ends in pillow blocks 40 mounted on front leg members 14. A pair of tube feeder wheels 42 are mounted on wheel axle 38 so as to rotate in unison therewith. Each feeder wheel 42 includes a plurality of arcuate indentations 44 around its outer peripheral edge. Also mounted on axle 38 is a sprocket 46 around which is mounted a chain drive 48 which is driven by a conventional drive motor 50.

Extending downwardly from struts 23 are a pair of saw axle supports 52. Journaled in the extreme lower ends of axle supports 52 is a saw axle 54. Saw axle 54 supports a pair of circular saw blades 56 which are spaced apart a predetermined distance on axle 54. The distance between saw blades 56 is set at the length to which tubes 34 will be cut. Saw blades 56 are positioned on saw axle 54 so that they are adjacent tube feeder wheels 42 (FIG. 2). Saw blades 56 and feeder wheels 42 overlap so that the teeth of saw blades 56 extend radially inwardly past the extreme inner ends of arcuate indentations 44 of feeder wheels 42. A pulley 58 is mounted on saw axle 54 and is driven by a belt 60 mounted on a conventional drive motor 62. Saw blades 56 and feeder wheels 42 together comprise a sizing station for cutting the tubes to their proper length. During operation saw blades 56 are driven at a high rate of speed by drive motor 62 and simultaneously feeder Wheels 42 are rotated at a predetermined speed by drive motor 50. Tubes 34 roll down rack 28 until they abut against the outer arcuate surfaces of feeder wheels 42. As arcuate indentations 44 of feeder wheels 42 move adjacent the lowermost tube in feeder rack 28 they pick up that tube and carry it on around toward saw blades 56. Thus feeder wheels 42 provides means for grasping tubes 34 one at a time and moving them on toward saw blades 56. Feeder wheels 42 are spaced inwardly from blades 56 and as each tube 34 is pressed against saw blades 56 its ends are cut and it is sized to the proper length. Because feeder wheels 42 are spaced inwardly from saw blades 56 they continue to carry each tube 34 around a circular path until gravity causes tube 34 to fall out of arcuate indentations 44. A pair of vacuum conduits 63 are positioned adjacent saw blades 56 and are adapted to carry away the sawdust created as the tubes are cut to size.

A conveyor rack 64 is mounted at the point where tubes 34 fall out of indentations 44. Conveyor rack 64 slopes downwardly to permit a gravity feed of tubes 34 to the next station. Upper rail 36 includes an arcuate portion 66 which embraces the upper edge of tubes 34 as they are carried around their arcuate path by wheels 42. A lower portion 68 of upper rail 36 loosely embraces the upper edges of tubes 34 as they roll downwardly along conveyor rack 64. Arcuate portion 66 of upper rail 36 prevents tubes 34 from falling out of arcuate indentations 44 on wheels 42 during the time that saw blades 56 are cutting tubes 34.

A frame pedestal 70 is mounted on each of end frames 12. Rotatably journaled between pedestals 70 of end frames 12 is a lower clamp bar 72. Rigidly mounted on clamp bar 72 are two lower chamfer clamps 74. Each lower chamfer clamp 74 includes a convex foot 76, a concave arcuate surface 78, and a shank 80. Shank 80 is rigidly secured to clamp bar 72. A pivot lever 82 is also rigidly secured to lower clamp bar 72 and extends downwardly therefrom. At the extreme lower end of lever 82 a piston rod 84 is pivotally connected. Piston rod 84 may be driven by any conventional drive means 86. Drive means 86 is preferably of the hydraulic or pneumatic type. It is adapted to be moved from an extended position to a contracted position, thereby rotating lower clamp bar 72 and lower chamfer clamps 74.

Referring to FIG. 3, middle cross bar 26 has two Z- shaped supports 88 rigidly mounted thereto and extending downwardly therefrom. A pair of upper chamfer clamps 90 are pivotally secured to the extreme lower ends of supports 88. Upper chamfer clamps 90 include an arcuate concave portion 92 and an upwardly extending lever arm 94. A pair of springs 96 secure the upper ends of lever arms 94 to middle cross bar 26 and hold upper chamfer clamps 90 in a substantially horizontal position (FIG. 4). Any clockwise movement of upper chamfer clamps 90 from this position must overcome the bias of springs 96. Also rigidly connected to middle cross bar 26 are a pair of tlube chamfer braces 98 each of which includes a concave indentation 100. indentations 100 are slightly out of registered alignment with concave portions 92 of upper chamfer clamps 90. However, a slight clockwise rotation of upper chamfer clamps 90 against the bias of springs 96 will move concave portions 92 into registered alignment with concave indentations 100 of tube chamfer braces 98.

Mounted on frame pedestal 70 is an automatic pneumatic chamfering unit 104 of the type sold by Hypneumat, Inc. and designated as Models -200 EHB or M-200 EHB. Chamfering unit 104 includes a power unit 106, a drive shaft 108, and a chamfer head 110. Unit 104 is adapted to rotate chamfer head 110 and also to extend it inwardly and outwardly a predetermined distance toward and away from chamfer clamps 74, 90.

Upper and lower chamfer clamps 74, 90, and chamfering unit 104 comprise a chamfer station wherein the inner ends of each tube 34 are chamfered. A chamfer head actuating switch 112 is suspended from middle cross bar 26 and protrudes into the path of tubes 34 as they progress downwardly through conveyor rack 64. As each tube 34 strikes actuating switch 112 a time delay mechanism (not shown) is actuated to cause chamfering unit 104 to move chamfer heads 110 inwardly. The time delay mechanism delays actuation of chamfering unit 104 for approximately l-2 seconds so as to permit tube 34 to continue moving to its proper position for chamfering.

Immediately after tripping switch 112, tube 34 strikes a lower arm actuating switch 114 which causes drive means 86 to move to its retracted position, thereby causing lower chamfer clamps 74 to rotate in a clockwise direction. This rotation of lower chamfer clamps 74 causes them to grasp tubes 3-4 at their concave arcuate surfaces 78 (FIG. 4) and to carry tubes 34 upwardly until they engage the arcuate concave portions 92 of upper chamfer clamps (FIG. 5). Upper chamfer clamps 90 yield in a clockwise direction against the pressure exerted by lower chamfer clamps 74 until tubes 34 engage concave indentations of tube chamfer braces 98. Braces 98 prevent any further upward movement of tubes 34 and lower and upper chamfer clamps 74, 90. In this position tubes 34 are held with their ends in registered alignment with chamfer heads of chamfering unit 104. When tube 34 is in this position chamfering unit 104 moves chamfer heads 110 inwardly toward the opposite ends of tube 34. Heads 110 rotate at a high velocity and as they engage tube 34 they bevel and chamfer its ends. Chamfering unit 104 is provided with a movable contact 116 (FIG. 2) which moves in unison with head 110 as it slides inwardly toward tube 34. At the point where chamfer head 110 engages tube 34 movable contact 116 engages a fixed contact 118 and signals chamfering unit 104 to withdraw chamfer head 110 from tube 34. An additional switch (not shown) responds to the rearward movement of head 110 and signals drive means 86 to move to its extended position, thereby rotating lower chamfer clamps 74 in a counterclockwise direction back to their original position. As lower chamfer clamps 74 move downwardly, upper chamfer clamps 90 spring downwardly into their original position, thereby flipping tube 34 downwardly and rearwardly (FIG. 6). This downward flipping action from upper chamfer clamp 90 provides suflicient impetus to tube 34 to cause it to roll downwardly and rearwardly along shanks 80 of lower chamfer clamps 74.

A conveyor belt 120 having a plurality of L-shaped brackets 122 mounted thereon extends around two rotating sprockets 124, 126, and may be driven in a circular movement by any conventional means. The lower end of conveyor belt 120 is positioned adjacent the chamfer station so that when tubes 34 drop from upper chamfer clamps 90 they fall against the upwardly moving L-shaped brackets 122 of conveyor belt 120 and are carried upwardly one at a time. At the extreme upper end of conveyor belt 120 tubes 34 are dumped into a delivery tray 128 where they may accumulate until the operator removes them for the next stage in the manufacturing process.

The speed at which feeder wheel 42 rotates is synchronized with the actuation and deactuation of chamfer clamps 74, 90, so that tubes 34 are sized at approximately the same speed as they are chamfered, thereby creating a smooth continuous operation of machine 10. Referring to FIG. 7, the sized and chamfered tubes 34 each are cut to a predetermined length and each have chamfered inner ends 130.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

I claim:

1. A machine for sizing and beveling tubes comprising a frame, transport means on said frame for moving said tubes through a predetermined path, sizing means on said frame for trimming the opposite ends of said tubes such that said tubes have a predetermined length, grasping means on said frame cooperating with said sizing means to hold said tubes during cutting thereof, chamfering means on said frame for chamfering the opposite ends of said tubes, clamping means on said frame for holding said tubes in a predetermined position in alignment with said chamfering means, and chamfer switch means on said frame for actuation by said tubes during movement along said predetermined path, said switch means causing said chamfer means to move into chamfering engagement with the ends of said tubes.

2. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said transport means includes a conveyor ramp between said sizing means and said chamfering means, said ramp including a guide rail substantially conforming to said predetermined path and spaced from said ramp so as to permit movement of a single row of tubes between said ramp and said rail.

3. A machine according to claim 2 wherein said conveyor ramp is sloped downwardly to permit gravitational movement of said tubes along said ramp.

4. A machine according to claim 1 further including a feeder ramp for feeding tubes to said grasping means and wherein said feeder ramp includes side guide means for limiting lateral movement of said tubes on said feeder ramp.

5. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said grasping means comprises a pair of rotating wheels having concave arcuate surfaces at the periphery thereof, said arcuate surfaces being adapted to engage one tube at a time for movement of said tubes against said sizing means.

6. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said sizing means comprises a pair of movable saw blades spaced apart a predetermined distance so as to engage and cut off a portion of a tube at said opposite ends thereof, whereby said tubes are sized to said predetermined length.

7. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said chamfering means includes a pair of rotating chamfer heads which are extendable toward and away from said chamfer clamping means upon actuation of said chamfer switch means by said tubes.

8. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said clamping means are adapted to move said tubes along said predetermined path to a position wherein the opposite ends of said tubes are held in registered alignment with said chamfering means.

9. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said clamping means include spaced first and second opposed and movable jaws, one of said jaws supporting a tube for movement into gripping engagement with the other said aw.

10. A machine according to claim 9 further including a stop bar over said first and second jaws such that movement of said jaws causes a tube to abut said stop bar at a predetermined position, the abutting engagement between said tube and stop bar limiting further movement of said jaws.

11. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said chamfer switch means include a timing switch on said predetermined path for actuation by said tubes during movement thereof along said path, said timing switch actuating movement of said chamfer means after a predetermined time delay.

12. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said clamping means include an actuator, an actuator switch, and a movable clamping jaw, said actuator switch being tripped by a tube when said tube is positioned on said movable clamping jaw, thereby causing said actuator to move said clamping jaw to said predetermined position with respect to said chamfer means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,538,659 5/1925 Ross 29-383 1,637,176 7/1927 Davis 2938.3 2,364,884 12/1944 Weimer 2938.2 2,592,005 4/1952 Burke 29-383 2,777,520 l/l957 Grzenkowski et al. 2933.15 2,873,628 2/1959 Stuart 2938.2 3,232,260 2/1966 Siemonsen 113-7 RICHARD J. HERBST, Primary Examiner 

